Fuel briquette treating apparatus



Jan. 5, 1932. L. H. RICHARDS FUEL BRIQUETTE'TREATING APPARATUS' Filed May 19. 1927 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS.

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Patented Jan. 5, 1932 v kUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LAURENCE H. RICHARDS, 0F POTTSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 THE l PHILADELPHIA & READING COAL AND' IROLN COMPANY, OF POTTSVILLE, PENN- SYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA FUEL BRIQUETTE TREATING APPARATUS Application filed May 19, 1952-7. Serial No. 192,680.

This invention relates to fuel briquette treating apparatus and the like, the object being to provide for baking or firing fuel briquettes and afterward cooling them, etc. (if desired) conveniently and under favorable conditions. In suitable forms of embodiment, such as hereinafter described, the invention permits of accurate regulation and wide variation of the conditions of treatment, and affords great economy and efficiency in the handling of the material. Other objects and advantages that may be realized through, or in connection with, the invention will appear from the description hereinafter of a particular form of embodiment.

The invention is well adapted and advantageous for the production of smokeless anthracite briquettes, and particularly for baking raw briquettes made of anthracite culm crushed to pass a l0 to l2 mesh Tyler standard screen, and pressed up with a bituminous (asphaltic) binder,*after thorough intermixture with the aid of heat. An asphaltic residue from petroleum distillation may be used as binder, known in the trade as heavy asphalt flux, in the proportion of about 51/2% of the coal by weight. This is for coal cleaned before crushing (as at the stage of wet slush), so as to have an ash content of about 13 to 15%,-and containing all the sizes produced in crushing it, including at least about 80% pulverized-i., e., iiner than about sixty mesh. While the coal may be dried before crushing, in mixing it may be moistened yso that the raw pressed briquettes will contain Aabout 2% moisture when they go from the press tothe baking oven. rIhey may be of such size as to weigh about 2f oz. before baking, and to have a final (baked) size of 1% in. square by llgin. thick for a stuffed pillow form of briquette.

In baking such briquettes in the manner hereinafter described, their asphaltic binder is carbonized, undesirable volatile components are expelled, and the material is consolidated into strong coherence. They may then be allowed to cool to a temperature at which they can be handled, with concurrent further expulsion of some volatiles. Their final weight may be about 1% oz.

In the drawings, Fig. I is a side view of a baking oven and a cooling conveyor suitable for treating fuel briquettes in accordance with my invention.

Fig. II is a plan view of the oven and the conveyor.

Fig. III shows a vertical longitudinal section through one end of the oven, taken substantially as indicated by the line III-III in Figs. II, VIII and IX.

Fig. IV is a View of the oven and part of the coolin T conveyor in end elevation, from the left of Figs. I and II, certain parts appearing in section, however, as indicated by the line IV-IV in Fig. II.

Fig. V is a fragmentary cross sectional View, illustrating the construction and support of thev oven conveyor shown in Fig. III.

Fig. VI is a fragmentary and partly diagrammatic side elevation of the oven conveyor and its bucket loading and unloading mechanisms, with certain parts partly broken away or in section.

Fig. VII is a fragmentary plan View of the oven conveyor and its bucket loading mechamsm.

Fig. VIII shows a cross section through the oven and one of the furnaces by which it is heated., taken as indicated by the line VIII- VIII in Figs. II and IX.

Fig. IX shows a horizontal section through the lower portion of the oven including two of its furnaces, taken as indicated by the line IX-IX in Fig. VIII.

Fig. X shows a vertical longitudinal section through the lower portion of the oven and through its furnaces, taken as indicated bythe line X-X in Figs. VIII, IX and XI; and

Fig. XI shows a transverse vertical section through the oven, taken as indicated by the line XI-XI in Figs. II and IX.

The raw briquettes may be conveyed from the press not shown) where the7 are pressed up out of the mixed coal and binder, on a rubber belt conveyor 19, the right hand end of which appears in Figs. I, II, VI and VII, in front of and at the top of the oven 20. They enter and leave the oven 2O at its leftliand end, Figs. I, II, III and IV. From the oven 20, the briquettes are delivered onto lil ' feet longer still. As shown in Fig. I, the cooling conveyor 21 raises the briquettes to a point where they may fall from its end into a gondola car or other hopper or receptacle 21a placed to receive them.

From the righthand end of the transfer conveyor 19, the briquettes tumble and slide down an inclined chute 22 in a lateral eX- tension of a transverse trunk or housing 23, extendingl across the interior of the oven 2O in its upper portion, which is here built higher than elsewhere (Figs. I, II, IV, VI and VII). The chute 22 has a Wireniesh or openwork portion 24 (Fig. VII), through which Yany loose particles of the briquet e material may fall and thus be separated from the briquettes and recovered before entering the oven 20. The briquettes themselves slide on down the 90 curved lower portion `29 of the chute 22 into the trunk 23.

As shown in Figs. I, II, III, IV, VIII and XI, the oven 20 is a long high tunnel-like structure, suitably heated as hereinafter described, in which the briquettes are' baked into coherence by carbonization of their binder, with expulsion ofvolatile components. rIhe briquet-tes are carried through the oven 20, in aV plurality yof longitudinal passes, by a conveyor system 430 (Figs. I, III and VI) comprising buckets 31 pivoted to chains 32 that extend around pairs of sprockets 33,' 34, 35 at the lefthand end of the oven and pairs of sprockets 36, 37 at its rightliand end. As shown in Figs. I, III and VI, the conveyor system 30 has four passes or runs back and forth from end to end of the oven 20, one below the other successively, with a short vertical return pass or run between the lowerinost and uppermost lefthand sprockets 35, 33.n As shown in Figs. V, VIII and XI, the horizontal runs of the sprocket chains 32 are supported by ways formed byV the horizontal flanges of angle bars 38 mounted on brackets 39 carried by transverse beams 40 (of channel section, horizontally arranged) whose ends are built into and supported in the lateral furnace walls 41. One end of each beam 40 rests on a plate 42 built into one wall 41 and is anchored fast in said wall by a headed pin 43 extending down through the channel web and the plate 42, while its other end is loosely accommodatedin a' metalhousing 44 built into the other wall 4l,-this arrange` ment permitting free and independent eX- pansion and contraction of the beams 40 and ofthe furnace structure. The sprocket chains 32 may be anti-frictionally supported on the ways 38 by rollers 45 mounted on the pivotal connections between'the chain links. 'I'he buckets 31 may be pivotally supported by trunnions 46 Whose ends extend through the chain links and are secured by cotter pins 48.

As shown in Figs. V and VII, a typical bucket 31 comprises a shallots7 flat-bottomed sheet metal trough .with sloping` sides Vand flanged end pieces 47 riveted tothe trough ends and carrying thetrunnions 46,-here shown as removably secured in said trough ends by the cotter pins 48. The buckets 31 may be weighted to keep them upright at all stages of their travel, as by means of round bars56 with their ends engaged in apertured depending flanges of transverse angle clips 51 riveted to the bucket bottoms. The weights 50 may be removably secured by cotter pins 52 in dialnet-ral holes in opposite ends Aof the bars 50, inside of the clips 51. The

bucket ends 47 are shown as provided with cam flanges 53 for tilting or capsizing the buckets 31 to unload them, as hereinafter described.

As shown in Figs. I and II, the conveyor 30 may be driven by an electric motor 55 through a variable speed connection or device 56 to one or both of the righthand pairs of sprockets 36, 37. In the present instance, the motor 55 has a belt connection 57k to the variable speed drive 56,v and the latter has a chain and sprocketconnection 58 to a worm 59 in mesh with a worm gear 60 on a transverse countershaft 6I carrying pinions 62, which mesh with gears 63, on the shaft 64, of the pairs of sprockets 36, 37. y

As shown in Figs. I and II, the cooling conveyor 2l consistsl of a wire mesh belt extending around drums 65, 66 at its lefthand and righthand ends, the former 65 being mounted in a pit 67 sunk below the floor on which the oven 2O is built, and the latter 66 supported by a suitable frame structure 68. The lower, return run of the cooling conveyor 21 may be supported by a plurality of idle rolls 69 at suitable intervals therebeneath. As shown in Figs. I` and II, the conveyor 21 is driven at its upper righthand end, by a sprocket chain connection 70 from a rearward extension of one of the sprocket shafts 64 to the shaft of its righthand drum 66. The sprocket chain 70 is kept up and out of the way of the receptacle 21a by idler sprockets 71.

As shown in Figs. III, VI andVII,the curved lower end 29 of the chute 22 extends between the upper and lower runs of a sprocket chain and paddle conveyor in the transverse trunk 23, and the briquettes fall from the chute end 29 into the substantial ly horizontal troughway afforded by the bot` tom of the trunk 23, in the path of the lower run of the conveyor paddles. The trunk 23,

` and its troughway extend clear across the oven20-above the uppermost run of the conveyor at the left, and said conveyor 80 carries and pushes the briquettes along the trough bottom 81 into and across the oven 20, where they are loaded into the conveyor buckets 31. The troughway bottom 81 is not of full width all the way across the interior of the oven 20, but of progressively diminishing width: i. e.,it tapers off at one edge 82 diagonally across the oven and said troughway. As shown in Figs. VI and VII, this edge 82 terminates in a sloping apron from which the briquettes drop into the passing buckets 31. By virtue of the diagonal termination of the trough bottom 81 at 82, and of the fact that the paddles of the conveyor 80 lie substantially at right angles to their direction of-travel, the falling briquettes are ldistributed substantially uniformly from end to end of the buckets 31. Independently of the tapering bottom at 82, indeed, the paddles act to distribute or spread the material across the width of the bucket conveyor 30, by always pushing forward the top of material piling up on the conveyor 30. As shown in Figs. I, II and IV, the conveyor 80 is driven from a belt-driven countershaft 83 on top of the oven 20, by bevel gear and sprocket connections 83a, 83?; to the shaft 830 of its front sprockets 83d.

Briquettes may be prevented from falling through the intervals between the buckets 31 by transverse cover bars 84 (shown in F igs. III, VI and VII, as of angle section with their angles turned upward) that are carried by sprocket chains 85 extending parallel with the conveyor chains 32 around pairs of sprocket wheels 86, mounted in the oven 20, above the uppermost run of the conveyor 30. As shown in Figs. I and II, the sprocket chains 85 and cover bars 84 are driven in definite phase or step with theI oven conveyor chain 32, by means of a sprocket chain connection 87 between the shaft 88, of the righthand sprockets 86, and a rearward extension of the shaft 89, of the intermediate oven sprockets 34. Thus the cover bars 84 always Vmove over the intervals between adjacent edges of the buckets 31, as shown in Figs. III, VI and VII, and kso assist in the distribution of material lengthwise of the buckets 31 by the paddles.

The baked briquettes are received from the lowermost run of the oven conveyor 30 and discharged at the rear of the oven 20 by an endless-screw and trough conveyor 90extending across the oven 20 beneath the lowermost conveyor run, as shown in Figs. II, III, IV and V I. As the oven conveyor buckets 31 reach this screw conveyor 90, they are tipped and dumped, as shown in Figs. III and VI, by a stationary cam 93, adjustably mounted on beams 94 across the oven 20, which engages the cams 53 on the bucket ends 47 (Figs. III and VI). As shown in Fig. VI, the inclined surface of the cam 93 first engages the circumferential portion of the advancing sector shaped bucket cam 53 (shown concentric with the trunnion 46) and rolls the same rearward, at the same time lifting the bucket 31 somewhat, and then engages against the terminal or radially extending edge of the cam 53 as the latter slides over the crest of the stationary cam 93. As shown in Figs. III and VI, a transverse trough or hopper 95, with a. bottom opening 96 extending its full length, is interposed between the lowermost oven conveyor run and the trough conveyor 90, to catch the falling briquettes and insure their all reaching the trough of said conveyor 90.

At the rear of the oven 20, the discharge conveyor 90 has a closed cylindrical casing with a lateral outlet 9.7 (Fig. IV), from which the briquettes tumble or slide down an inclined open chute 98 into a substantially horizontal transverse open troughway 99 extending rearward from the oven 20 across the lower end of the cooling conveyor 21. In i this troughway 99 operates a sprocket chain and paddle conveyor 100 similar to the conveyor 80 in the trunk 23, that carries and pushes the briquettes rearward over and across the cooling conveyor 21. The bottom 101 of the troughway 99 terminates at 102 Fig. II on a diagonal extending clear across the cooling conveyor 21, j ust like the trough bottom 81 above described, and thus the briquettes falling from the edge 102 are distributed substantially uniformly across the width of the cooling conveyor belt.

As shown in Figs. I, II and IV, the trough screw conveyor 90 is operated by sprocket chain and bevelled gear connections 103, 104 from the sprocket shaft 83o of the paddle conveyor 80. The paddle conveyor' 100 is driven from the other end of the conveyor screw 90 through bevelled gear and sprocket chain connections 106, 107, IV.

The oven 20 may be heated from any suitable source and by any suitable means. As shown in Figs. I, II, III, VIII, IX, X and XI, the oven 20 is heated by a plurality of (anthracite) coal-fired furnaces in its lower portion, beneath the lowermost run of the oven conveyor 30. In the present instance, there are four such furnaces 110. extending transversely of the oven 20, and alternate furnaces are fired from opposite sides of said oven. The products of combustion from these furnaces 110 leave the oven 20 through a plurality of stacks 111 and 112 in its roof, and also through a smaller stack 113 in the roof of the portion that houses the conveyor loading,r apparatus. The furnace gases are prevented from rising directly to the stacks 111, 112 and 113, by a substantially horizontal baffle 115 across the interior of the as shown in Figs. II and lul.)

oven 20, extending to within'soine distance (approximately about half the greatest internal height vof the furnace) of either end thereof. As shown in'Figs. III and XI, this baiile 115is. interposed' between the second and third conveyor runs, so that the lower runs (the third and fourth) receive gases at their hottest, while the upper runs receive them only after they have been cooled by contact with the buckets 31 and briquettes below saidbaile. The gases circulate lengthwise of the oven 20,.toward either' end below the baflie 115, and from its ends toward the stacks'lll, 112 and 113, in its mid-portion above this baiiie. Thus the briquettes are subjected to the gases on the lcountercurrent principle, so that the coldest gases act on the incoming briquettes, and the hottest gases act on the briquettes in the later stages of the baking process.

As they enter the oven 20, the briquettes may have a temperature of about 100O F.

For briquettes made as above described, the oven will preferably be so operated as to haveV a temperature of about 300O F. where the briquettes are introduced and throughout the rst horizontal conveyor run or pass (from left to right). On the second conveyor run or pass, the temperature may then be about 4100-4500 F.-tlie higher temperature being partly due t.; the influence of the baflie 115 andthe hotter gases beneath it, and partly to the cooling of the gases by the briquettes in the two upper conveyor runs. In the third and fourth conveyor passes orruns, the temperature may be about 600o F. Under these conditions, the time of transit of the briquettes through the oven 20 may be about an hour and three quarters. However, it will be understood that by Ymeans of the variable speed device at .56 (Fig. II) the time of transit may be regulated within very Wide limits, according to the oven temperatures'and the character or composition of the maquettes,-

e. g. from fifteen minutes or less to two hours or more. Y

Briquettes produced as above described and baked under the particular oven conditions of temperature and time just mentioned will ordinarily reach the cooling conveyor 21 at a temperature of about 600o F., and may cool on it to a temperature at which they can bev Y refractory side walls 121, with a refractory arch 122 thereover." At the rear end,v of the l grate 120 (speaking with reference to the side of the oven 20 from which the. furnace 110 is fired) is a refractory bridge wall 123 with an outlet 1211 in or over its upper portion for the escape of the products of combustion rearward. Along the sides of the oven 20, at the bottom, are refractory longitudinal iiues 125, substantially closed except as hereinafter described.. As shown in Fig. IX, each of the furnaces`110 opens and discharges directly into one of the flues 125 atjits rear end. Also, there are lateral openings 126 through the side walls 121 of yeach furnace fire chamber into one of the fluesy 125.. Each of the vflues 125 has aseries of lateral openings 127 from its upper portion into the interior of the oven 20,-'-i. e., into the interior ofthe space between the flues 125,-and also a lateral opening 123 through its lower portion into the space between said fines. Thus the hot gases from the furnaces 110 are conveyed lengthwise of the oven 20 bythe flues 125, and discharged and distributed substantially uniformly into the oven 20 through the openings 127 and 12S..

In addition, the interior of the oven 20 is heated by radiation from the furnace 110 and fiue structures 125, especially from the furnace arches 122.

As shown in Figs. I,II, III, VIII, IX and X, there is a forced draft system for supplying the furnaces 110 with air for combustion, comprising a longitudinal air pipe 130 -above the'oven 20, with kdiagonal branches 131, to either side for the furnaces 110. In the'present instance, the air pipes 131 extend down outside the oven 20, dividing at an intermediate point into branches 132, 133. Of these, the branch 132 extends and opens into the furnace ash pit, so as to deliver air for combustion beneath the grate 120, while the other branch 133 extends rearward and then into and up through the bridge wall 123, so as to deliver air rearward from the latter at 135. The flow of air through the branches 132 and 13.3 may be controlled, regulated, and proportioned b-y means of valves 136, 137 lin said pipes 132. v133, respectively. By regulating the air supplied from these pipes 132, 133, the rate of combustion can be controlled, and also the temperature ofthe products of combustion can be regulated, especially by supplying a greater or less excess of air through the bridge wall outlets 135. As shown in Figs. I and II, air is supplied to the main pipe 130 by a blower fan 138, driven by an electric motor 139. Y

Having thus described my invention, I

claim .1. The combination with a conveyor comprisingl a series of buckets, of a trough with a sprocket chain and paddle conveyor extending across Vand over said bucket conveyor for loading the same vwith material,

means preventing material from falling between the conveyor buckets, and a chute for introducing material between the upper and lower runs of the paddle conveyor.

2. The combination with a conveyor comprising a series of buckets, of a trough with a paddle conveyor extending across and over said bucket conveyor for loading the same with material, progressively diminishing means for distributing the material uniformly from end to end of the conveyor buckets, means for preventing the material from falling between the oven conveyor buckets, and a chute for dropping the material into the trough between the paddles.

3. rEhe combination with a bucket conveyor, of a trough having a progressively diminishing taper section with a paddle conveyor extending across and over said bucket conveyor for loading the same with material, and a chute with a downwardly-inclined curved ysection to feed the material into the trough between the paddles for uniform distribution from end to end of the conveyor buckets by the trough tapering sect-ion aforesaid.

4. The combination with a conveyor comprising a series of separate buckets, progressively-diminishing means for dropping material uniformly from end to end into said buckets, and means moving with the buckets in the region of said dropping means effective to prevent material from falling between said buckets.

5. The combination with a conveyor comprising sprocket chains and a series of transverse buckets carried thereby, of a progressively tapered sloping apron for dropping material uniformly rom end to end into said buckets, a series of covers for the intervals between said buckets, and sprocket chains carrying said covers driven in phase with the conveyor chains.

6. The combination with a briquette oven conveyor comprising a series of tiltable buckets, of a trough with a paddle conveyor extending across and over the lirst-mentioned conveyor for loading the same with briquettes, means for preventing the briquettes from falling between the oven conveyor buckets, a trough conveyor extending transversely of the nist-mentioned conveyor beneath the same, means for tilting and dumping the passing buckets and delivering the briquettes to said trough conveyor, and a cooling conveyor receiving the briquettes from the trough conveyor. 7. The combination with a conveyor comprising a series of tiltable buckets, of a trough having a progressively tapered section with a paddle conveyor extending across and over the first-mentioned conveyor for loading the conveyor buckets evenly from end to end with material, a trough conveyor extending transversely of the first-mentioned conveyor beneath the same, and adjustablymounted stationary cam means for tilting and dumping the passing buckets and delivering the material to said trough conveyor.

8. The combination with a conveyor, of a trough extending transversely with respect thereto, and a paddle conveyor in said trough extending across and over said first-k mentioned conveyor so that the paddles may distribute material from the trough across the width of the first-mentioned conveyor.

9. The combination with a conveyor comprising a series of buckets, of a trough eX- tending transversely with respect to said bucket conveyor, a paddle conveyor in said trough extending across and over said bucket conveyor, for loading the same with material, and means for preventing the inaterial from falling between the buckets, so that the material may be spread and distributed lengthwise of the buckets by the paddles.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Pottsvillc, Pennsylvania, this tenth day of May, 1927.

LAURENCE H. RICHARDS. 

